Higher than Hope
by chirp chirp
Summary: Things have been calm down at investigation head quarters. Suddenly L is kidnapped. The clock is ticking, and if the investigation squad doesn't find L in 24 hours, he's dead. LxLight slighly AU
1. Prologue

Look Into her Eyes

Author's note: In my universe, L doesn't die. Deal with it. Anyway, I've been very distraught by the fact that there are so few good, lengthy fics for this pair. While smut is good, it isn't everything. I _beg_ you, if you have come across a lovely LxLight story with a **PLOT** that is more than one chapter long, please tell me.

Warning: Yaoi, Lx Light. If you don't like it, then don't read it.

Rated T for violence, language

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

--

_**Prologue**_

--

Pain.

Pain exploded like a sun burst on the back of his head. His vision blurred, his knees buckled.

He was falling.

There was a soft thump as he hit the ground. The scent of blood and grit filled his nostrils. He heard a panicked cry. Someone had howled his name, the voice filled with fear.

The air was filled with the shriek of bullets. The voice called out again, but rather than fear, it was saturated with pain.

He reached out his hand to the blurry silhouette that then fell.

No good, he couldn't remain conscious anymore. However, he continued to stretch out his hand, trying desperately to reach the fallen figure before him.

Darkness began to swallow the world. He tried to push back the shadows, in desperation trying to call out to the crumpled for ahead of him, begging , pleading with him to get up, prove he was alright in one single word.

"…Ryuzaki…."


	2. For the Heart I Once Had

Look Into her Eyes

Author's note: Back into the past now! Wheeeee!!

Warning: Yaoi, Lx Light. If you don't like it, then don't read it.

Disclaimer: _Sure_… _I own Death Note… ha ha_… -suddenly dies of heart attack-

--

_**Chapter 1: For the Heart I Once Had **_

--

-_Two weeks previously_-

Light glanced over at L. Ryuzaki's large eyes were fixed to the monitor in front of him.

Light sighed. He was being constantly plagued by a voice. It had started out small.

Every once in a while, he would here a noise, as if someone just out of sight was weeping. It had slowly escaladed, after a few weeks he heard the crying every time he wrote in the Death Note. However, now it was even worse. Whenever he was with L, the voice would appear, heart wrenching sobs drifting into his head.

Suddenly, Ryuzaki's chair spun around to face Light, who jumped, startled.

"What is on your mind, Yagami-kun?"

"Nothing in particular."

"Yagami-kun, you are a terrible liar," L replied flatly.

"Hai."

Light shrugged. Even now he could here it. Maybe the tears were for him like the bells were for L. He still remembered that conversation. It was that day that the cries had started. L had been dead. He, Kira, had caught him and watched him slowly die. That was when he first heard those horrible sobs. After only a few minutes he couldn't stand to listen to them anymore. It was then that he pressed Ryuuk for a way of reviving L in the hope that the weeping would cease. Ryuuk had given him the eraser. It was as if nothing had ever happened. Ryuzaki and Watari were alive. The voice was quieted, but not for long.

"Kira hasn't been as active as usual lately," Ryuzaki commented, his eyes back on the screen.

"No, he hasn't," Light agreed.

"I wonder if he finally realized how pointless his crusade is," L murmured, more to himself than to Light.

_Pointless?_ "Ryuzaki-san, could you elaborate on that?" Light queered, trying to appear as normal as possible.

Ryuzaki afforded him with a quick glance before he pulled out a slice of cake.

"What Kira has developed, while formidable, is little more than a personality cult. Kira, while he may claim to be a god, is not immortal. As soon as he dies, it will be like nothing ever happened. The criminals that used to cower in fear will slink back up from the gutters and re-infest the world. And because of this, the world will be in a state of pandemonium. Something similar was observed when the Soviet Union dissolved. The Soviets had been absolute in there intolerance of civil disturbance, so in many less developed countries they had repressed all the local inter-tribe violence. This meant that when the Soviet's iron fist was removed, the tribes exploded into far more violence and war than would have ever happened if they had been left to their own devises. Kira fails to look past the time of his own death. He may wave the flag of justice, but he neglects to face reality. All of Kira's victims will have died for absolutely nothing."

--

Light walked home slowly, Ryuuk floating beside him. Thoughts blurred together in his head. It was hard to concentrate on when in the back of his mind he could hear

_Is the other half doing this? The me that is not Kira? Is that who is crying?_

_Does Light Yagami cry for what I do, even if I never shed a tear?_

_Is Light's heart in pain, because of what I've done?_

_Maybe, for the heart I once had…_

"Ryuuk, take the Death Note. Give it to someone else under the condition that they keep killing the criminals on the news," he said stonily. "That should help keep the police away from me. Oh yes, go to Misa and tell her that I request that she give you her Death Note too. Give that to another person, same conditions. That should keep her from getting in trouble."

"Except, if I catch the new masters of the Death Notes, don't let me touch them. I don't want to remember."

Ryuuk cocked his head at Light and chewed on an apple. "So you're giving up, Light?"

Kira's crimson, possessed eyes fell on Ryuuk. Despite himself, the Shinigami shivered. He may be a God of Death, but it felt like he was standing next to the devil himself.

"I haven't been Yagami Light for a long time. Not sense I touched that… thing. I've decided that I want Light back. Kira means nothing to me anymore. Kira,… I, am a childish attempt to create a paradise that has no possibility of existing or lasting. I am not justice, so much as a pathetic attempt of a dying heart to the world. I am a joke, and I no longer can fool myself into believing myself anymore than that. Now go, and do as I instructed."

Ryuuk chuckled, "Humans are so interesting." He picked up the death note and flew off, 'hyuk' –ing into the night.

Light blinked once, twice.

"Why do I feel like I was talking to someone just now? Hmmm… must have been dozed off."

--

Endnotes: Thanks to everyone for reviewing! Especially Product of a Sick Society, thank you so much for all the good tips on length Death Note fics!

I'll try to update very soon. School has just ended for me so it shouldn't be to long.


	3. White Night Fantasy

Look Into her Eyes

Author's notes: In case you haven't noticed, the names of the chapters are all Nightwish song titles. Long live Finnish rock.

Disclaimer: I don't own them, damn it!

--

_**Chapter 2: White Night Fantasy**_

--

L watched Light carefully. The reddish glow in his eyes that indicated Kira's control had disappeared a week ago, replaced with a gentle auburn. He wondered briefly why Kira had gone, given that Light was by no means imprisoned, like the last time he had disappeared. Not that L particularly minded the fact that his only friend was no longer a homicidal maniac, but it would mean he had to start from scratch again.

The youth was talking animatedly with Matsuda and Soichiro-san at that point in time, explaining what they had uncovered about the two new Kiras that had appeared. Light noticed him watching and looked at him with a mirthful smile. "Ryuzaki, would you like to go over the new data with me now?"

"Hai."

-

"Light, I'm heading home now. Are you going to come with me or work a little more?" Soichiro asked as he picked up his coat and hat.

"Yeah, Ryuzaki and I need to finish looking at the files I managed to …um… borrow from the RFGC computers.

"Who knew that I would be proud to have a master-hacker for a son," Soichiro-san beamed. "I'll tell Sayu and your mother that you're pulling an all-nighter. Be sure to get some sleep before two, though."

"Hai, Otou-san."

And with that reassurance Soichiro Yagami left. Most people would have considered this course of action a , but Soichiro had grudgingly come to accept that he couldn't keep up with Light and Ryuzaki's long nights. While they, being relatively young, were full of pent up energy, he was old and spent. It was better just to get out of their way.

L's eyes followed the older man as he walked out the door. Mochi, Aizawa, and Matsuda had all already left. It was just the pair of them left.

"Ryuzaki, ready to go over those files?" Light asked, a small smile on his face.

L jumped slightly, disturbed from his reverie.

"Hai."

"Ryuzaki? Are you feeling all right? You've been staring blankly at me all day long," Light quiried.

"Quite alright. Let's look at those files," Ryuzaki rose as he said this, moving towards Light's computer. Then the unthinkable happened. L slipped on one of his own discarded a candy wrappers and fell. Desperately trying to remain upright he grabbed the only thing in reach.

"_Ryuzaki!"_

When L opened his eyes, he realized he was in a bit of a predicament. To avoid falling flat on his face he had reached out to grab Light. However, Light at the same time had scooted the rolling chair underneath him so that L would land on Light rather than the floor. Unfortunately, this placed L in an interesting situation. He was now straddling Light with his lips pressed against the latter's mouth.

At this point there were two options:

1. Apologize and runaway.

2. Take advantage of the opportunity.

"Ryuzaki?" Light whispered as the others head lifted off his own.

L looked down into Light's gentle brown eyes. His head dipped down.

After several minutes Ryuzaki realized that they had somehow migrated to the floor, and he was now on the bottom. Well we couldn't have that, now could we?

In one graceful movement without interrupting their tongues battle for dominance he managed to flip their arrangement.

"Man, are you two fighting again?"

The lights flicked on, and Ryuzaki had the presence of mind to get off Light.

The pair looked up to see Matsuda was standing by the door peering down at the two boys on the floor.

"Ha ha, yeah Matsuda, you know us to well," Light laughed, genuinely praying that Matsuda would hurry and leave, and hopefully not mention anything to his father. Soichiro Yagami may be a nice man, but he probably would not react well to the information his only son was caught making out with his boss on the floor. "What brings you back here?"

"Oh, I left my briefcase by accident," he said, smiling stupidly.

"No more fighting, you hear me?! Come on now, kiss and make up already," Matsuda said huffily as he grabbed the bag in question and left.

"Kiss and make up, huh?" Light said, his eyes following Matsuda out the door. "Of course, L, we must follow Matsuda-san's instructions."

A smile the Cheshire cat would have been proud of spread across L's face.

"Invariably."

--

Endnotes: You like it so far? L's going to be kid-napped soon (probably next chapter but I'm not certain), so don't worry. I wanted to first build a slightly stronger bond between Ryuzaki and Light before that happened, that's why the prologue occurs two weeks after the chapter 1.

A brief explanation: _**RFGC**_- Radical Fundamentalist's God Corps (I made it up). Basically, religious fanatics who got their hands on a Death Note. I was trying to go through extreme types of people who might use a Death Note, and that was the first thing that popped into my head. (examples of extreme types: religion obsessed people, justice obsessed people, wealth obsessed people, simple homicidal maniacs, etc.)

_**READ AND REVIEW**_


	4. Deep Silent Complete

Look Into her Eyes

Author's Note: For some reason, at the beginning of every chapter I've noticed it says 'look into her eyes.' Why the name of an old Flinx one shot I never completed keeps popping up is not known by me, so just ignore it. It's not on any of the word documents so must be adding it for some odd reason, don't ask me why.

Read and Review please!

--

_**Chapter 3: Deep Silent Complete**_

--

"Honestly, I don't know how you two do it," Aizawa said, wiping his brow.

"Do what?" Light and L chimed together.

"Work this much. Both of you are still going through files when the rest of us leave, and have already started by the time we get here. Do you get any sleep?" Aizawa inquired, dragging a hand through his bushy hair.

"Not much, admittedly," Light stated, internally adding '_Though that has little to do with work…'_

"And when was the last time either of you left this building?"

"Uhhh… last month I think?" Ryuzaki replied glancing at Light for affirmation.

"I think so, well I walked home once or twice last week, does that count?" Light said, looking back at L.

"Alright, that's it. You two take the afternoon off and go outdoors," Soichiro Yagami commanded.

"But-!" both started to cry in unison only to be cut off by the police chief's upraised hand.

"No arguing. You two are still young; your bodies need exercise and the sun. Staying indoors poring over papers for months on end is not healthy. Now go!"

And at that the two hastily departed from the room.

"Which would you prefer Ryuzaki, a game of tennis or renting a hotel room?" Light said wistfully as they closed the door behind them.

"Now, now Light-kun," Ryuzaki chuckled, "When your father said _exercise_, I don't think that's what he meant."

"How about another tennis match then?" Light asked, smiling.

"Sounds good to me," L said, smiling back.

--

"Ryuzaki, I have an idea," Light said with a sudden evil grin while flicking his rackets strings, checking for flaws.

"Oh really," L said curiously, glancing sideways up at his friend, his thumbnail in his mouth.

"Yes, let's place a bet."

"What are the stakes?"

"Whoever wins is seme, and the loser has to be uke."

"Hnnn…" L chewed on his thumb for a few seconds, "Sounds intriguing…. I accept."

Light smiled. "Whoever wins six games wins, ne?"

"Well doesn't that bring back memories…well I'd say we've gotten to know each other quit well now," Ryuzaki said with a smirk, rolling up his long white sleeves.

"Ready?" Light said with a pleasant smile.

"Go."

Light tossed the ball into the air, his back arching. With a resounding crack his racket met the ball, and the game began.

-

To any observers, the first game they played was like war. It was a battle between masters, a vicious no holds barred brawl practically. It was beautiful, but only in its violence and wrath.

But this match was different. While it was still a clash between masters, but it was more than a brawl, it was a dance. The pair sinewy bodies bent and weaved, breath seemed to mingle with breath, and black eyes never left brown eyes; the ball was no more than a yellow blur between the pair. Smash, back hand, back hand, fore hand, lob, fore hand…

The game seemed timeless to the dueling pair. This was their eternal dance, the outside world did not exist to them. Neither noticed the watchers, the cooing girls, the other people on the court… these things were not a part of their world. This was more than the dance of enemies, even more than the dance of rivals; their dance was the dance of friends, the dance of lovers.

They became more entangled in their dance, sweat streamed down their skin, their hair and clothes were soaked.

It was close. Both had already won five games each. This last game would determine the winner.

Light hunched over slightly, easing his weight from one leg to the other. It was Ryuzaki's turn to serve.

Dark eyes stared deeply into light brown ones. They stood perfectly still, waiting for some invisible signal to launch into motion.

And launch they did.

L's spine snapped back like a reed in a howling wind, his arm swinging forward and smacking the small yellow ball with explosive force.

Light sprung forward, the ball connecting with his racket with a crash. A drop shot.

L's eyes widened as he recognized the play and leapt forward, but a fraction of a second too late.

"Game set! Winner: Yagami! Six games to five!"

L looked up, blinking in the sun, as Light stood over him, offering a helping hand.

"Thanks." L seized the hand proffered to lever himself back to his feet.

Taking advantage of their closeness, L whispered quietly enough so no other people could hear, "I guess that means I'll be uke tonight."

--

They walked back in companionable silence. The game had been a good break for both of them.

They were almost to the hotel that functioned as the investigation's headquarters. L was walking slightly ahead of Light. Light smiled at the others back. L was his. Ryuzaki was Light's and Light's alone. No one would ever be able to rob him of that.

And then it happened.

Pain.

Burning, horrible, deafening _PAIN_.

The back of his head exploded into blinding pain

Colored stars burst in his eyes, a soft cry escaped from his lips.

Light Yagami sank to the ground in the ally, unable to stay upright.

Ryuzaki wheeled around, his eyes wide and pupils dilated in fear. His mouth formed one blood curdling yell, his lover's name. Two bullets struck him, one in each leg. Ryuzaki crumpled to the ground, another cry was torn from his lips, but it was a cry of pain, not fear.

He stretched out his hand, trying to reach L, make sure he was still alive, that his heart was still beating, that his lungs were still pumping.

But Light was beginning to loose his war against the darkness clouding his eyes. But before he was entirely gone he managed to whisper one last word,

"_Ryuzaki…_"

--

Endnotes:

I'm sorry I didn't go into great detail on the tennis match, but even though I've played tennis a bit, there is no way I could write a decent match. I can't write romance very well either… sorry… (but that's probably because I have a no life outside Gaia, fanfiction, and the manga aisle of the bookstore. Sad, yes I know.)

Finally, L gets kidnapped! Joy!

_**READ AND REVIEW!!**_

See you next chapter!


	5. Dead Gardens

Author's Note: Hello again! I'm trying to update as quickly as I can, sorry that this chapter took so long in coming!

Disclaimer: If I owned Death Note, would L have died? NO. It would have been more like the movie, Last Name. And just in case you haven't seen it, I shall say no more.

PS: Does anyone know where I could find the third movie "L Change the World" online? I scoured youtube, livevideo, veoh, animemangafun. com, and thespectrum and still couldn't find anything besides trailers and amvs. It has been very saddening. But on with the story! Yay!

Read and Review please!

--

_**Chapter 4: Dead Gardens**_

--

Light.

Blinding florescent white light.

He blinked once, twice.

As Light tried to get his bearings and assess the situation, an obnoxiously loud voice made him wince.

"_**CHIEF!! HE'S AWAKE!!"**_

"Calm down Matsuda, how do you know he's awake?"

"Because, Aizawa-san, I just saw his eye twitch!"

"Matsuda…"

"Ittai… my head…," Light moaned, "could you be quieter, please?" While Light was never one to beg, the situation called for it. He had a headache the size of Hokkaido, and their shouting was not helping. Unfortunately, it just got worse.

"Wow, he really is awake!" Aizawa exclaimed.

"_SEE?! _ Chief!! Light-kun really is awake!!"

"WHAT!! My son is finally awake!!"

Soon his father and mother, Matsuda, Aizawa, Mochi, Sayu, and Misa were in the room. All (except the ever reticent Mochi) seemed to be doing his or her best to split his skull open with noise.

Then he realized something.

He couldn't see L.

"Dad…"

The babble ceased as he spoke.

"… Where is Ryuzaki?"

Mr. Yagami stiffened and turned to the three women.

"Amane-san, Sayu-chan, Sachiko,… please step outside for a few minutes…"

"Dad, where's Ryuzaki?!" Light repeated, louder this time, fear etched into his face, his pupils contracted slightly.

"He's… missing, Light," he said softly, his voice strained.

"We noticed that you two were gone until dusk, and knowing both of you to be extreme work-aholics, we thought best to check up on you. We found you lying in the alley, alone," explained Matsuda, an insecure edge to his voice.

"Ryuzaki… they came up from behind. Before either of us had realized they were there, they hit me on the back of the head with something. Then Ryuzaki… he turned around… and they shot him… twice… once in each leg… that's when I blacked out…. So someone kidnapped him…."

Suddenly, Misa banged into the room again. Ignoring the looks of shock and aggravation from the rest of investigation team, she ran to Light, tugging on his arm, "_LIGHT-KUN!! You have to see the TV!! HURRY!! HURRY!!" _

She dragged Light out of the hospital bed and down the hall to the waiting room equipped with a TV that was permanently set on a news station.

On the screen was, however, most definitely not a newscaster.

The person on screen wore a heavy hooded cloak and a bleach white, full face mask with narrow black slits for eyes.

A deep, gravelly voice issued from the TV's speakers.

_Hello Japan, You will know who I am soon enough, but this is a message for the individual known as KIRA._

_We have captured L. Shortly, we will… question him regarding the KIRA case's suspect list. _

_Given L's reputation, we may safely assume that one person on that list is KIRA. However just for certainty's sake, we will kill everyone on that list. If L does not give up that list in 24 hours, we shall assume that this exercise was pointless and end his life. _

_KIRA, I understand your type. You are childish, you are possessive, and you hate to loose. I understand that you do not want your greatest rival, your ultimate enemy, to die by the designs of anyone but yourself. That would mean that you loose. It would mean since you could not kill him yourself, that you are inferior to us._

_So by all means, try and rescue him. _

_Also, do you really want to risk the chance that after hours of our rather… intense probing that he will cave in and give us your name? That is all we require as you probably know. Just your name and you are gone KIRA. You will no longer stand in our way. _

_Just think about it. In the meantime, the clock is ticking. 24 hours starts now, so you better start working, or both you and L will be history. This will be our, the Order's, first step toward ridding the world of all that oppose us. Good day to you all. _

And with that the masked face disappeared, replaced by the picture of the stunned news casters.

Light's eyes narrowed. Even if KIRA managed to retrieve L, keeping him alive would not be in KIRA's best interests.

"So the race is on," Light said, his thick brown bangs shadowing his eyes, "We now have to find L within 24 hours, hopefully before KIRA does."

The Investigation Squad members looked at each other grimly.

"Matsuda-san! Run back to headquarters and bring back two laptops for me," Light barked, his piercing brown gaze shifting to Matsuda.

"Yes, sir!" Matsuda said, running out the door.

"Mochi-san, find anything and everything you can we ever recorded about the _RFGC._"

"Hai!"

"Aizawa-san, go to Sakura TV and find out what you can about the video they just broad cast, confiscate it if you have to!"

"Right!"

"Tou-san, could you help me back to my room? My head feels like it's about to split open," Light said, looking over at his father with a tired little smile on his face.

"Of course, son."

"Oh yes, thank you Misa for bringing us in here for that. Good thinking."

Misa watched as Light walked back to his hospital room with his father. She was positively glowing. _Thank you! Good thinking!_ Light had actually thanked and complimented her!! She smiled gleefully. Maybe the day wasn't a total waste after all.

-

L groaned.

His body ached. He tried to shift a little, only to have massive jolts of pain shoot through his legs, making him bite his lip in an effort to not scream.

Ryuzaki slowly, oh so slowly, pulled himself into his normal crouch, ignoring the burning pain in his legs. He could feel bandages. Someone had bandaged up his legs? Did that mean they wanted him alive? Where was he?

_Light had fallen. _

_Just as he had tried to go to Light, he had been shot in the legs. He had fallen… Then someone had covered his mouth with a cloth… and he had blacked out… Drugged? Probably…87.6 chance… Now where was he? _

Analyze the situation. The floor was hard and cold, as were the walls. Slightly damp, roughly 58 degrees Fahrenheit, 14.4 degrees Celsius, 287.6 Kelvin. He heard the murmur of someone else's breathing, but it was muted, as if behind something. _A guard probably_.

Inhaling deeply, he noted the slightly unpleasant odor of mildew and mold. He sniffed, taking in and analyzing all the smells in the air. The most prominent smell was mildew; he filed that away for later reference. Another scent that stood out was the musty smell that accumulated in seldom used rooms. He caught a slight whiff of strawberries and sugar, his own smell. There was the also the slightly metallic smell of his blood. All of these were stored away. He could smell rust… wood….

Judging from the texture and the floor and wall, the room was stone except for the door. The door was probably wood, with slightly rusty metal hinges and handle.

And yet he still had no earthly idea where exactly he was. Yes he understood that he was probably in an underground room in an old building, probably a church or shrine that had been abandoned for many years. He guessed that he was probably still in Japan as well, but that hardly narrowed it down at all.

He was tempted to swear. While he had made all the detectives wear the GPS belts, he never wore one himself. He had no way to contact Watari….

Watari. He must be in a panic by now… Will he summon the successors? Or will he let Light handle it, as even Watari accepted that Light was probably the only person in the world who's mind was at the same level as L's. Not even Near, the most promising of his successors, was equal to L.

But Light was.

Light and L were equals. They were perfect opposites, but equal.

But would even Light be able to find him, wherever he was?

However, trusting Light to find him was not a good plan. While Ryuzaki knew the teen would do everything in his power to find him, there was always the possibility that Light might be in a coma from the blow to the head that he suffered, and wouldn't wake up for days. And Ryuzaki definitely doubted that he had that much time.

However, for any plan he came up with, it would be good to know what his captors intended to do with him. Suddenly, the door was flung open and light steamed into the dark cell. Ryuzaki looked up blinking in the sudden light at his captor. A tall person wearing a large black hooded cloak stepped into the room. The person's face was obscured by a snow white mask.

"Hello L."

--

Endnotes: Not much to say this time I think…

Ah yes, I think I've figured out why I like L so much. My favorite super hero of all time is The Question (a wacky conspiracy buff in Justice League Unlimited). L and the Question are really similar in that they share the same "eccentric charm" as Question said once. Seriously people, go on youtube and look up clips of the Question! He's hysterical, and in the same dead-pan monotonous way L is!!

Okay… well, feed me reviews, please. What? They're addicting! Like apples! And if I don't get reviews, I start twisting myself up like a pretzel and try to do handstands! And I'm hardly a gymnast, so if I break my neck and can't complete this story, upon your own heads be it!

Wow. You should ignore that last little diatribe; I went a little insane for few seconds there. But seriously, review. It makes me feel loved.

See you next chapter!!

(PS: If you're having a hard time imagining the mask I've been describing on the cloaked dudes, think about Haku's mask from Naruto (reference volumes 3 and 4 if you need to))

And there was one other thing I wanted to say... but I just forgot. Oh well. Maybe I'll remember while writing the next chapter...


	6. Moondance

Disclaimer: I don't own it. Blah.

Read and Review please!

--

_**Chapter 5: Moondance**_

--

"Hello L."

Those words echoed it the small stone room.

L looked up at the masked figure, his face expressionless, his large eyes peering owlishly over his knees.

"I am _Peter_," the intruder said, a slight lilt to his voice made L cock his head.

"That is an interesting alias."

"Perceptive, aren't you?" Peter chuckled.

"Yes."

A simple, undeniable statement of facts.

Peter smirked. This was going to be so much fun.

Ah, but first, he had another matter to attend to.

"Now L, you're a busy man, I'm a busy man. Let's spare ourselves a lot of wasted time," Peter stated, peering down at the man crouched on the floor. "First…. How are your legs?"

"Hn… could be better," L said with a shrug, his unblinking eyes never leaving the black slits in Peter's mask.

"But the bandages are adequately stopping the blood?" Peter questioned, stooping down slightly, checking them himself.

"It appears so, why do you ask?" L said, listening to the man's voice carefully for any clues.

"Oh, part of our mission in the Order is to heal the sick. I wanted to make sure you were as close to perfect health as possible before the torture started," he said cheerfully.

"Of course," L said, nodding slightly but still never letting his eyes leave those of his captors.

"My second question is: Who is a suspect in the Kira case? If you do not tell me the answer, things could get pretty… hard for you. Just tell us and you'll be free to go."

L cocked his head slightly again, "We have no suspects right now."

"L, I would really like to not waste time with lies," Peter stated, any pleasantness in his voice was gone.

"I possess the same sentiment, _Peter,_" L said quietly, his monotone revealing nothing.

"Whatever do you mean by that?"

L continued gazing at the cloaked man and answered, "We both know that you would not let me leave here, whether or not I gave you names. Please do give me credit for being the world's greatest detective. At least put some effort into your lies."

Although he couldn't see it, L sensed the man had just smiled.

"L, you are an interesting character. I might even regret killing you. But Kira stands in the way of our organization. We cannot achieve our mission with a false god of justice casting judgement. Kira _must_ be eliminated," hissed Peter glaring down into L's dark eyes.

"And why pray tell, did you kidnap me?" L said tonelessly.

"You, my dear friend, are bait. Kira, rather than jeopardizing his own life and the lives of the other suspects will try to either capture you back or kill you here. Either way it requires his presence here, and once he is here, he will be ours, for we have _the eyes_."

L continued to stare at the man, his apathetic gaze disclosed none of his inner thoughts.

-

Peter shivered once the door closed behind him. Those haunting, unblinking eyes disturbed him. While he knew it was physically impossible, he felt like those dark eyes had been able to see his face behind the mask.

L had scared him. A malnourished, weaponless, handcuffed insomniac who was completely under his power had somehow managed to unsettle him, to make some tiny part of his hear tremble in fear.

He did not approve of that. Not at all.

--

L looked at the flat table two new masked and cloaked figures were strapping him to. To be honest, L didn't care that they were strapping him down, but he did wish that they hadn't made him take his shirt off. The metal table was unpleasantly cold.

Peter watched the process silently. The hardest part of the operation had certainly been trying to get L to straighten out his back. That had taken at least a half hour.

L looked flatly at the pair presently immobilizing him. "And you are…?"

"Their names are James and John," Peter supplied.

"Let me guess," L said, an infinitesimal tinge of aggravation to his voice, "There are thirteen of you, each given the name of a different apostle?"

"Yes."

L sighed and shook his head slightly. Honestly, villains these days had no creativity.

-

James and John started attaching metal wire-like devices to his temples, chest, and stomach region. Several also were attached to his arms.

"Now once again, L, who are the suspects?" Peter said, looking at the detective on the stainless steel table.

"There are none," L repeated quietly, his dark eyes fixing on the cloaked figure.

Peter pushed button sending massive amounts of electricity through the skinny detective who let out a heart-wrenching scream.

-

Even several minutes after they had turned the power off L was still twitching. Moonlight streamed through the small window at the top of the wall, only a few inches from the ceiling. It sent dappled silver patterns across Ryuzaki's tortured and heaving form.

"This won't stop until you tell us," Peter said, his voice bored.

"There… are… no… suspects… " L panted, still spasming slightly from the electricity administered roughly five minutes previous.

"I don't think so. And you are going to tell us who your suspects are soon enough," Peter chuckled, but the laughter did not touch his eyes. He reached forward and pushed the button again and watched contently as L's body shivered and convulsed.

John and James were both now far away from the room in which they had tied down L, but they still heard the deafening screams.

--

Endnotes: Five reviews last chapter! I feel so loved!! Yay!

_**READ THE BELOW STUFF!! IT'S IMPORTANT!!**_

I'm trying to decide if I should involve Near, Mello, and Matt in this. So, since I can't make up my mind, I'll ask you humans reading this.

Should I have any of Wammy's boys work the case with Light?

The pros are:

A) It would be more realistic for two or more geniuses to figure out where L is within 24 hours than just one. I mean, seriously, Lights smart but 24 hours isn't much time. The more heads the better.

B) This story would be lengthened considerably, hopefully with more plot twists and amusing things than it is at the moment. Right now, it's rather annoyingly straight forward; the only interesting characters are really L and Light. The boys would definitely liven up the story, which would make it both more fun to read and fun to write.

(Quick Note: I still haven't figured out the last few bits so it won't be screwing up any pre-laid plans. I know myself well enough to assume I might change the plan half way in, so I kept the outline flexible.)

C) I'm sorry, but I'd really love to see the expression on Near and Mello's faces when they found out that Light was equal to L. I mean, seriously, it would be hysterical! Especially when he's Light, and not Kira acting like a total nut-job (Look at the last episode and you'll see what I mean. Totally bonkers). And that's only part of the fun. Imagine how they would react after figuring out that they were together!! (Matt probably wouldn't care, but Near and Mello would be funny, given they both respect/worship L). Yes this is a stupid reason for changing the course of the story, but still, I relish the thought!!

The cons are:

A) I'd have to do a little more work. I'm not quite as well versed with any of the Wammy's boys as I am with L and Light, so I'd have to read a little more to get the hang of their speech patterns, thought process, and quirks. (I'm one of the weirdos who stopped reading after L died. However, I have seen the last episode of the anime and the post-story one shot with Near on thespectrum.)

B) This con is the biggest, not for me, but for you dear little readers. It is of course that most people like to read about the three boys mainly in the context of pairings, and I refuse to pair any of them, since that would lead to huge annoyances. For example, readers who like MattxMello might be pissed if I pair NearxMello, and vice versus. It would be distracting, and this is a LightxL fic, so I don't want to discourage fans of that pairing because of the Mello-pairing wars. Simple as that.

Review and tell me your opinions and ideas. And please don't just say one way or the other, give a brief explanation. Yes/No answers tell me nothing except you don't like to type. I need reasons!! Tell me _why_ it would be brilliant or why it would be stupid.

Anyway, that's it. Please review and submit your thoughts.

I'm probably updating next weekend (maybe sooner), so please review before then so I can start typing. I can't start writing the next chapter till I know which way to go, so it would be recommended to review as soon as you read this.

See you next chapter!!

(PS: This chapter is so short because I couldn't write anything from Light's side of the story without possibly screwing up a way to get the Wammy kids in on the action, sorry!! The next chapter will be much longer, I promise!!)


	7. Wayfarer

Look Into her Eyes

Disclaimer: This is getting _really_ tiresome. I DON'T OWN IT, DAMN YOU!!

Author's Note: I am sooooo sorry this took so long!! I was planning to post it Friday night but my laptop broke! I just managed to get it working well enough to transfer all my fanfic stuff to flash drive. I'm using my dad's computer right now, which will mean updates will be a lot slower. The reason for this being that I don't get to access my dad's computer easily. Usually he's on it 24-7, and even when I do get on, my mom invariably notices and lectures me because I'm supposed to be working on my summer reading. Bleh. Anyway, on with the show!

(Hopefully I'll be able to update by Wednesday, at least.)

Read and Review please!

--

_**Chapter 6: Wayfarer**_

--

Quillish Wammy sat in his dark computer room staring blankly at the plethora of black screens. Even though he had monitored the boy from these screens everyday to keep him safe, he had been stolen. The second his watchful eye had not been there, the boy had been snatched away. Away from his protection. He opened a drawer of his desk and flipped open the secret compartment in the back. Carefully he withdrew an old photograph. In it stood a small child with a mess of raven hair and dark, hollow eyes. The boy was holding the hand of a white haired and mustached man in a dark overcoat.

It was the only picture in existence of the greatest detective the world had ever known.

-

Roger sighed, leaning back slightly in his chair. Mello and Near had gotten into another fight today. He honestly didn't know what he was going to do with those two. They would be marvelous if they worked together, each having special traits that would make up for the others flaws. If they could just maintain a careful balance they might even surpass the current L. But no. Even pairing them in something as simple as a group project started an explosive row. He muttered a few choice words to describe the two boys. Honestly, if Matt hadn't been there to separate them and keep the situation relatively under control, Roger might have murdered the two little brats. His attention was diverted by a loud bee from his computer.

Roger looked up at his computer. It was a message from Watari.

_L has been kidnapped. If he is not located in 23 hours and 19 minutes, we may need a replacement. Send the three here to help the search. Use M's little black bird as the conveyer. _

"Little black bird, huh?" Roger said grimly.

-

Roger walked down the hallway and poked his head in one of the dorm rooms, "Matt, could you please fetch Mello and Near? Once you find them, please bring them to my office. I need to have a word with all three of you."

Gentle eyes hidden behind amber goggles flicked up surveyed the old man.

"Okay," Matt said, saving his game and putting it aside.

He first walked outside to where Mello and some other children were playing soccer.

"Oi! Mello!" Matt called, waiting to continue until he had the blonde's full attention.

"What?" Mello yelled back kicking the ball with unnecessary force before turning around to face Matt.

"Roger wants you in his office, along with Near and myself," Matt replied, "Come on."

As the pair walked toward the office, Matt snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah, one second Mello."

"Alright," Mello said with a snort.

Matt stuck his head in a room of the corridor, looking around for the little albino child who usually crouched their putting together his blank puzzle.

As soon as Matt located the boy, who was positioned in the far left corner of the room, he called "Hey Near, Roger wants you."

Near's black, lifeless eyes locked on Matt. He nodded slightly, stood up and walked silently out of the room.

-

Roger looked at the three boys who were now before him. Matt had slipped his Nintendo out of his pocket and had started to play it again. Mello stood next to him, glaring daggers at Near, who was currently crouched on the floor, two long fingers playing with a curl of white hair, completely oblivious to Mello's stare.

_Not oblivious_, Roger corrected himself, _He just doesn't care._

"Well?" Matt said slowly, not bothering to look up from his game, "Why did you want us?"

"It seems there is a situation in Japan… I got some rather disturbing news from Watari," Roger started. All eyes on the room were suddenly glued to him.

"L has been kidnapped."

It seemed there was an eternity as the three boys stared blankly at him. Suddenly, Mello snapped.

"_**WHAT?!**_" he screamed leaping forward, his blonde hair flying out behind him as he grabbed the front of the old man's sweater.

Roger looked calmly over his glasses at Mello's panicked face. All color had drained from the youth's skin; his eyes were bulging, his pupils dilated. Near seemed to have been frozen to the ground. He was holding completely still, his fingers had even ceased the idle twirling of his hair. His white bangs shadowed his narrowed eyes. Even their reactions were polar opposite, Mello defined by motion while Near seemed to turn to stone.

Matt, on the other hand, tucked his game in his pocket and fixed his gentle but calculating eyes on Roger. "So, how do we get to Japan?"

"Very good, Matt. Yes, Watari asked that you aide in the investigation. You will be working with the NPA taskforce that was helping L find Kira. And as for transport," Roger said with a slight smile, "I think its about time you take that little bird of yours out of her cage and see what she can do."

A huge smile slowly spread across Matt's face as Mello and Near looked at him perplexed.

"Oh yeah! I seriously get to fly her?! Sweet!" Matt yelled punching the air. He proceeded to grab Mello's and Near's arms and dragged them down the hallway.

"I'll be sending your things separately. Good luck!" Roger yelled after them.

-

"Matt," Mello panted as the tall boy dragged the pair out of the orphanage and into the surrounding woods, "Where the fucking _hell_ are we going?!"

"There," Matt said excitedly as they neared a large expanse of grass in front of a cave.

"Umm… Matt?" Near began slowly as they approached the cave, "When Roger said 'bird', did he mean…?"

All questions were answered as Matt dialed a series of codes at quickly into a small touchpad on the side of the cave. The holographic image of the cavern disappeared, and they saw instead the stainless steal inside to a beautiful airplane hanger. And inside the hanger sat the unmistakable sleek, ebony body of the SR-71 Blackbird. And oh, was she a beauty.

"Matt, is this what you've been working on recently?" Mello asked, awestruck.

"Yep. Forget cars, it's all about the stealth planes, baby," Matt said, obviously pleased with himself as he stroked the plane's side.

"At Mach 3 we should be able to get to Japan in good time, but where exactly are we going to _land_?" Near questioned pointedly.

Matt waved him off, "Details, details. Don't worry, L has his own private airport in a small town near Yokohama. Just hurry up and climb in, we can't waste time."

"But don't blackbirds only have room for two people at most?" Near asked, confused.

"Yes, but this was built by _me_ from scratch. You don't think that I haven't made _any _modifications to the original design?" Matt answered with a devious smile.

"Damn, Matt, Lockheed Martin's got nothing on you," Mello said happily, whacking his best friend on the back.

"There are usually two cockpits at most, but this only has one as I am more than capable of controlling her single handedly. However, there is an area up there, where the second cockpit in a normal plane would be, that can fit two relatively small individuals. Now come on kids, time to buckle-up!" and with that Matt sprang into the cockpit and began checking dials and computer indicators. Near and Mello, both speechless, jumped into the area he had pointed out for them. They buckled themselves in and were only slightly surprised when the top came down, affectively trapping them inside. Both began praying quite earnestly.

"This flight will be approximately 3 hours. Please no food or drinks, and no smoking while you're at it. Isn't good for the upholstery. Please keep all hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times, and don't worry about emergency procedures, if we crash you'll be dead anyway. Now let's GO!" And with that he pushed several buttons, checked the computer screens once again, and pulled a lever. The rockets roared to life, and off she went.

Like a winged black bullet, she streaked through the crystal blue atmosphere, and Matt crowed his joy.

"I feel like I'm going to be sick," Mello whispered, his face a sickly green. Near nodded mutely, his face a similar shade. For once they actually agreed on something.

--

Light sat in his hospital bed. Several layers of bandages were wrapped around his head. The soft cotton yukata was warm and comfortable, but he hardly noticed or cared. Somewhere Ryuzaki… L… was being tortured by a lunatic fringe organization. He _had _to find him, and soon.

Which was why, of course, the bed-ridden Light (who had recently suffered massive head trauma) had tree laptops set up around him. His hands flew over the first two laptops at the same time, his ability to multitask paying off very well. On one he was searching for any information he could on the mysterious "Order." The other he was using to hack into Sakura TV, hopefully to find out more about the mysterious delivering of the video. The third was off to the side, its screen blank white except for a gothic W. It was his connection to Watari.

There were very few things he knew that were concrete, but he could easily guess some things. First, L was probably still in Japan, most likely the Kanto region. As these people intended Kira to find L within 24 hours, it had to be somewhere Kira had easy access, and since the broadcast L had used to track Kira to the Kanto region of Japan had been on television, the order probably knew L had said on hit. However, the radicals obviously did not want the police, to find L. Therefore, the place where they were keeping him must be possible to find, and yet subtle enough to avoid police detection.

Also he factored in the religiousness of the group. They were fanatics. Most likely they would choose a location that symbolized this, like a shrine or a church.

However, all this would be apparent to anyone who took time to analyze the facts. What he needed to figure out was how to narrow it down. A shrine or church somewhere in the Kanto region of Japan was not very useful. Granted, it was better than saying that L was probably somewhere in the world, but not much more practical, especially since there was no hard evidence, it was just theory.

Suddenly, Watari's voice issued from the speakers of the third laptop, making Light jump.

"Yagami-kun, seeing as how my charge is the one in mortal danger, I took the liberty of sending for some people to help in the investigation."

Light smiled at the computer. He understood that he and Watari were probably equally worried about L, as they were probably the two people closest to him. Naturally Watari was working over time to do anything and everything he could to find L.

"Alright, who are they and when will they be here?" he asked gently.

"Their names are Matt, Mello, and Near, and they shall be in your room in approximately five minutes. They are from an orphanage in England I established for unusually brilliant children. The whole purpose of the orphanage is to create a successor for L, but at the moment, none are quite capable. Near is the closest. He is the small boy with white hair. He is very similar in apperence to L. Near unfortuneatly is not quite as willing to act, and would much rather sit back and observe. For example, he would have never introduced himself as L to a suspect as Ryuzaki did at the entrance ceremony. However, his mind is very sharp, and his reasoning and deductive skills are great. Mello is next in line. He is also very intelligent with excellent reasoning an deductive skills, however he is much to volatile, and will do anything to achieve his ends."

"Then it would be good to have those two work together, they would balance each other," Light remarked thinking.

"Yes, only problem is that Mello is like a match and Near is like gasoline. You will have your hands full working with them." Light was almost positive that Watari had a wry smile on his face by this point.

"And what about the third, Matt?" Light asked.

"A computer genius, his skill rivals mine."

Light gave an appreciative whistle.

"Only problem is he has no motivation to use his extraordinary skills in any pursuit other than gaming, although recently he took the initiative to build an SR-71 blackbird, so hopefully this is a turn for the better. He is a very good friend of Mello's, and has more patience than any other person I've every met. He has to, you'll understand once you meet Mello."

Light smiled.

Suddenly the hospital door opened and in stepped three boys.

"Hello, Yagami-san, it's a pleasure to meet you."

--

Endnotes: Thanks for the reviews everyone! And as you can tell by this chapter, it was a resounding **YES!!** for Wammy's boys. The only people who dissented were annoyed because of the whole issue with travel time, so I decided to cheat. Well, it's entirely possible for Matt to build a modified SR-71 Blackbird!! Really it is! … Why are you people looking at me like I'm insane?

Anyway, did I depict the three well enough? I forced myself to read volume 8 and a little bit of 9, but it just wasn't any fun without L. I missed his weird-ass panda eyes peeking into the frame.

I began to understand Mello's speech patterns from his narration in Another Note: the Los Angeles BB Murder Cases, and Near from the manga, but I still have read nothing besides fan-stuff for Matt.

Oh yeah, for Matt, what are some random hand-held games? The closest I come to gaming is playing solitaire and pinball on my laptop, so I'm completely clueless. Yes feel free to laugh, I know I'm pathetic. My mom knows more about games than I do. Seriously, they had some of those old gaming stations in an airport, and I looked on as my sweet, serious, logical to a fault mother dominated Pak-man and the old game in which you are a little fighter-plane-like thingy and you shoot alien-bug creatures. It was freaking SCARY!!

Please read and review!! See you next chapter!!


	8. Ghost Love Score

Disclaimer: I know I don't own it. You know I don't own. God knows I don't own it. Why do I have to keep writing this?

Author's Note: My computer's fixed!! Yay!! Turns out it needed a new hinge. I have to admit my computer wasn't the only thing unhinged for awhile there. But it's repaired now so that's good. However, right after I got my computer back, my headphones decided to break. Damn you, technology.

Also, sorry this is so late! I had already typed up 8 pages when I realized that the mood was completely off and I had to delete and rewrite everything. That really sucked. Plus, I could seem to force myself into the correct flow of thought. All in all, my muse abandoned me for a few days. Anyway, please enjoy. Hopefully I'll be able to post the next chapter over the weekend.

Read and Review please!

--

_**Chapter 7: Ghost Love Score**_

--

Mello and Near awkwardly leapt out of the jet black plane and onto the tarmac. Something about flying faster than the speed of sound for three hours did not sit well with their stomachs.

Matt, however, was ecstatic. He happily patted the controls before springing out and landing in a graceful crouch. "Well what's up with you two?"

"Fuck it, Matt. I swear I am never getting into that goddamn plane again!" Mello snarled, wiping bile from the corner of his mouth.

Near simply continued retching on the cement.

Matt smirked at the pair. He couldn't wait for the return trip.

Suddenly, a black car pulled up. The driver's window rolled down. Inside sat a stern man in a crisp suit. His black hair was combed neatly back; his eyes were lined but sharp behind his large spectacles.

"My name is Yagami Soichiro, and I am chief of the NPA. Watari instructed me to come get you, Matt-kun, Mello-kun, and Near-kun. Please hurry and get into the car," the man in the car said in gruff English. But even though his heavy accent, his tone left no room for argument. Matt studied him for a few seconds. If this man was in league with the kidnappers, then it would hardly be good to get into the car… However, this was L's private airport; to get in you probably needed some sort of authentication from Watari, so there was a very high probability that this man was exactly what he claimed to be…

Matt nodded to Near and Mello who had both seemed to have reached the same conclusion. The three did as instructed.

"Soichiro-san, where exactly are we going?" Matt asked in perfect Japanese, startling the older man slightly.

"To the location of the head of the present investigation, my son," Soichiro said, his eyes fixed on the road.

"Your son his head of the search for _L_?!" Mello exclaimed. "Does that mean we have to work under him?!" (A/N: Get your filthy minds out of the gutter now.)

"_Yes_," came a quiet, yet stern voice over the speakers.

The three boys eyes were suddenly transfixed on a screen fixed to the ceiling of the car.

The black screen had flicked to life, only to reveal a blank white background and a carefully calligraphered 'W'.

"Watari…." Near whispered, tugging idly at a lock of white hair.

"_To save precious time, you will be given the information for the case now. That way not a moment is wasted, now pay close attention. The papers in the envelope to Matt's left are timelines of the day in question, with detailed accounts of every movement that led up to the kidnapping. After you finish reading through, set them back in the envelope. Then you will be shown a video of the kidnappers TV broadcast. Pay attention and study these carefully. Every second is vital and must not be wasted." _ And with that, the screen went dead.

Matt grabbed the envelope Watari had specified. He took out three packets with maybe sixty pages each. He sighed. This was going to be a long drive….

-

When the three boys finally stepped out of the confines of the small car, they found themselves in front of a hospital.

"Um…. Why are we at a hospital?" Mello asked the Chief of Police curiously.

"Because this is where my son is," Soichiro said quietly, "Before taking L, the kidnappers hit my son over the head with a baseball bat. He suffered massive head trauma. More specifically, his skull was fractured and he had a concussion. It's a miracle he's still alive."

The strain in the man's voice easily let the three know how closely the boy had been standing to death's front door.

"And he's heading the investigation?" Mello reiterated, trying to imagine why the boy with a fractured skull was being allowed such a prominent position.

"Of course," Soichiro said with a small smile, "L once said that Light was his equal. He is naturally the best choice."

Of all the reactions Soichiro had expected to see after he said this to the three boys, what he received was not anticipated. Mello's eyes bulged, his pupils dilating, his expression almost crazed. Near stiffened looking at Soichiro Yagami with slightly widened eyes, his grip on his robot toy slipping.

Matt continued playing his Play Station 2 like nothing had happened.

"L's _equal_?" Mello murmured, staring at Soichiro Yagami incredulously. Suddenly he grabbed Matt's arm and dragged him into the hospital, leaving Near and Soichiro standing alone outside.

"…Well that was a surprise," Near said calmly before proceeding to follow the rampaging Mello, leaving a shocked Soichiro standing outside.

-

"Hello Yagami-kun."

Light looked up. There they were, just as Watari had said. L's… successors. What would it be like, he wondered briefly, knowing there was an orphanage full of kids waiting for you to kick the bucket so they could take your place? But L… he probably saw it as a necessity. After all the detectives mere existence kept crime down by a significant percentage.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Matt-kun, Mello-kun, and Near-kun," Raito said quietly, bowing slightly, "Watari spoke quite highly of you."

"How may we be of service?" Matt asked, watching Raito carefully. From what he had read and heard, Raito had been very close to L, but Matt could clearly see that this was one hell of an understatement. From his every movement and word, Matt could sense that the boy was hurting, and the pain was not from the blow to his head. How could he sense it? He wasn't sure, but he had a strange feeling it was a side effect of hanging around Mello and Near. At least someone at Wammy's had to have some sort of empathy, right?

"Matt-kun, could you help me hack into the RFGC's computer system?"

"Alrighty," he said, taking one of the laptops and started typing away furiously.

"I assume everyone has been briefed, so what are your thoughts?" Raito asked, turning towards the remaining two.

"Hn…" Near started, thinking carefully, "I guess we can assume they are somewhere close, if they want Kira to be able to attempt to rescue L."

"My thoughts exactly," Raito said nodding, as his fingers flew over a different computer.

"Trick is, it would be easier if we knew what religion this cult branches off from," Mello said, "Then you'd know where L is hidden. These kinds of nut-jobs would probably use a place sacred to them as a headquarters. Like a temple, a church, or a shrine. Either way, we can assume the place has an extensive labyrinth underneath so that they can operate freely without attracting the attention of passersby."

"Their organization's official name certainly implies a monotheistic religion, and casual name, 'The Order,' implies Christianity, but you never know. They could see themselves as an 'order,' a reorganization of the world that would suit their tastes," Matt commented dryly, eyes still fixed to his computer screen.

"It most likely means both," Near murmured, "cults usually are obsessed with double and layered meanings."

"This is a list of all the people we think were killed by their Death Note," Raito said, turning his computer so they could see the list. "The people killed are primarily non-Christians, minority-rights activists, homosexuals, and certain more liberal politicians who would be replaced with more conservative ones. It's no wonder they want L and the original Kira out of the way. If Kira noticed, or more pointedly, when he noticed, he would most likely view them as deserving his justice. L already has started pursuing them, as they can be recognized as a fourth Kira."

Matt glanced up from his computer, "Raito-kun," Light flinched slightly upon hearing L's usual way of addressing him, "Why did you pause several times in the middle of your sentences?"

"Matt-kun is very perceptive,"Raito gave him a small, sad smile. "And the answer is, I guess, that I was waiting for Ryuzaki to complete them."

The three boys stared at him, surprised. Raito, however, turned back to the computer screen, ignoring their persistent gaze.

Suddenly, the door burst open and in hurried Matsuda, Aizawa, and Mochi, each with a large collection of files, CDs, and flash drives.

"Raito-kun!" Matsuda exclaimed ecstatically, "We finally got everything!!"

"Good," Raito said, fixing a pleasant smile on his face. It wouldn't do to discourage them when they had been working so hard.

"Matsuda-san, Aizawa-san, and Mochi-san, these boys are Near, Mello, and Matt. They are L's… associates," he completed after a brief pause. He didn't want to say successors. It would make it sound like his friend was already dead…

Matt's eyes snapped back to his screen, "I'm in!" he proclaimed happily, his fingers flying over the keys at impossible speeds.

"What does it say?" Raito asked leaning towards Matt, anxiety apparent on his face.

"Wow, and I thought Mello was weird…" Matt gave a low whistle as he read the information, while earning himself a healthy glare from Mello.

"They're definitely a Christianity-centered cult," Matt continued, "But for some reason they keep talking about the 'thirteen disciples', rather than the twelve."

"Well," Mello said, scratching his head, "that could go in one of two directions. Either they are referencing the replacement of Judas by Matthias, that, while it kept the number of devoted and living disciples the same, changed the total number to thirteen, or they are referring to Mary, who is sometimes thought of as the thirteenth disciple."

Everyone stared at Mello for a few minutes, the room completely silent.

"I'm not even going to ask how you know that," Matt said turning back to his laptop.

"_WHAT?!_" Mello snarled, glaring at everyone in the room, who all promptly found interesting places to focus their attention. For example, Matsuda found his shoes highly entrancing, Near took a sudden interest in his robot toys, Aizawa chose to closely examine the ceiling, Raito turned back to his laptop and was quickly enthralled, and Mochi thought it a good time to re-examine the stack of files he had carried in.

"At any rate," Raito started, still staring fixedly at his computer, "may now go through the different churches with vast underground systems in or near the Kanto region."

Near looked at him closely, "You had already figured that out before we came?"

"Yes," Raito said, shrugging, "But it was nice to hear my suspicions confirmed. I…"

He paused, and stared at the ceiling briefly before returning to his work silently.

"What were you about to say?" Near asked curiously.

"…I… picked up the habit from Ryuzaki…"

--

Endnotes: Thank you amazing reviewers!! Oh, and foulodron, I really like the idea you gave me a while back, mind if I use it? L going on a mad rampage would be very… interesting :)

Once again, very sorry this took so long. I had finished it by Wednesday, but decided what I wrote was crap and deleted it. Stupid, ne? 8 pages deleted. Ah well… if I had written it correctly the first time none of this annoyingness would have happened.

And yes the Order is like a modern more religiously oriented Ku Klux Klan. Deal with it. I was feeling lazy, and they were a good model of violent scum of the earth. Even if they ran around in bed sheets. Thus the villains in this have black cloaks, not bed sheets. No self respecting villain would dress like a klansmen, they look too stupid.

Anyway, the brief thing about L finishing Raito's sentences is highly probable. It happens when you know someone very well (drag your minds out of the gutter, that's not what I meant). Plus, in Chapter 2 (chapter 3 if you count the prologue) that was exactly what they were doing. As for the asking someones opinion on a question when you already know the answer, L did that all the time to Raito in the series. Usually they were tests, but same idea.

And if your wondering why I'm referring to him more as Raito instead of Light this chapter, it really doesn't matter. I just happened to be in the mood to call him Raito. Most of the time I feel like calling him Light. Expect the random shifts, they'll probably occur often. Mainly because I'm just weird like that.

_**REVIEW PLEASE!!**_


	9. I Walk Alone

Disclaimer: Although I'm sure the series would have been far more _interesting_ (shall we say) if I had owned it…. But I in fact do not. Weep many tears.

Author's Note: We're at the rescue! Hooray! I'm posting chapter 9 now too, but please review this one still. I worked long and hard on this chapter. (It was actually harder to write then chapter 9, which I ended up finishing first).

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_**Chapter 8: I Walk Alone**_

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They were now back at the investigation's main headquarters. Raito had been more then happy to leave the hospital and get to work. They had roughly six more hours to find and rescue L.

Thanks to their hard work while at the hospital, they now were relatively sure they knew where L was. On the border of the Kanto Region was a small abandoned abbey, built by the Portuguese when they first came to Japan. It was supposed to be derelict and abandoned, long shrouded by the woods. No one had any reason to stray near the place, that and it was rumored to be haunted.

Most importantly, it had a labyrinth of catacombs that ran under it. Watari had managed to find maps and records that gave them a rough idea of where everything was. The only information they were lacking was L's exact location in the maze of underground passages.

However, Yagami Raito reflected, his mind seemed quite insistent on drifting back an hour to a slightly unsettling incident with his sister…

It had been time to leave the hospital. His sister had been helping him get dressed as he had been having slight problems with sudden vertigo. He had needed someone there to steady him, and he didn't mind his sister seeing his slight weakness. That and he hadn't had the opportunity to see his baby sister in a very long time. The last time he had seen her was when she had brought lunch for the team a few days before.

Raito had enjoyed chatting with her while Ryuzaki devoured some dango she brought for him, her brother having informed her of the man's insatiable sweet tooth. He smiled slightly at the memory. That day had been a very good one. Sayu and Ryuzaki had fun engaging in a pun-war (that Ryuzaki just barely managed to win), Mochi had demonstrated his amazing ability carry all the food Sayu brought (quite an accomplishment as she brought enough to feed a third world country for the next decade), both Soichiro and Raito had been mildly peeved and yet amused when Matsuda attempted to flirt with his sister (only to be rather flatly put down), and Aizawa had been very pissed off when Sayu and Ryuzaki began hypothesizing that his mini-afro hair was really Kira. That afternoon had probably been one of the best times in his life. For so long Raito had been very much alone. He was close to almost no one, as there was no one whose mind was as quick as his. He had always gotten along well with his family, and when he was younger he and Sayu had been very close. However, around the time he started high school he started to feel distant even from her. But not now. Now almost everyone he loved and cared about were around him, eating, laughing, and enjoying each others company.

He opened his eyes slightly to see Sayu peering at him, her head cocked to the side in a fashion that reminded him slightly of himself.

"Is Ryuzaki-kun L?"

He gaped at her, taken aback. Raito had always known that his sister was sharp, but not _that _ sharp! How had she figured it out?

"Judging from your reaction, he is," she said with a smirk, obviously very pleased with herself.

Raito stared at her wide eyed for a few more seconds. He then laughed softly, shaking his head. "You are something else Sayu."

Sayu watched him closely for a few seconds and then asked, "Oni-chan, are you in love with Ryuzaki?"

She smirked again as her brother's usual mask slipped away and his face burned redder than a beet.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Raito snapped himself out of the slightly mortifying memory before he started to blush again. He had to focus on the task at hand. The entire investigation team as well as the trio from Wammy's were discussing a reasonable plan of rescue. At the moment, his father was trying to persuade the three boys to let the police handle it, and Mello was laughing out right.

"There is _NO WAY_ we're just going to sit here!" Mello crowed.

"For the second time in my life, my opinion corresponds with Mello's," Near stated, curling his white hair in his fingers, "I dislike the idea of not seeing this through to the resolution."

"But this is far too dangerous for children!" Soichiro protested, looking around for support.

Watari stepped out of the shadows and stood slightly behind Light, "Matt, Near, Mello, one of you will have to stay behind."

"What? Why?!"

Watari, looked at the three over his spectacles, his eyes angry and narrowed, "The idea behind having successors to the L name was not to have them all killed off in a rescue attempt. Just in case, one of you will have to stay behind."

"I will," Near sighed, "I am the least useful on the field. Both Mello and Matt are better fighters than I."

"Then that's settled. I will stay behind with Near, and we will help coordinate your movements. To keep this as secret as possible, no one, not even the police, will be informed of or assist in this rescue attempt," Watari's voice was adamant, unyielding. But Light could hear it. Hidden, buried in that deep, authoritative voice was pain, uncertainty. He was having a hard time dealing with L's absence too…

"This is what we need to do," Raito said carefully, watching the group carefully. We'll split into two groups. One group goes after L while the other goes for the heart of the Order. The senior members of the investigation squad, Aizawa-san, Mochi-san, and Otou-san should tackle the heart. As they are the most experienced, they' should be the best choice. Matsuda-san, Mello-kun, and Matt-kun will come with me to find L. We are not veterans so therefore we would only get in your way. However, while there, may I suggest you where full face masks? It 's a good precaution, simple but .effective.

"Also, we don't have to worry about cameras or recording tapes. This cult believes modern machines are corrupting and demonic so they refuse to use cameras."

"So they want to send us back to the dark ages, literally?" Mello asked ; Raito nodding in response.

"This benefits us, however. At any rate, the group that is heading toward the notebook and its user will need to where some sort of mask, like a motor bike helmet. Near, you'll be in charge of keeping us from getting lost, or worse," Raito said.

They started devising a plan of attack, Raito stepped a little further back and let Mello and Near take over the plans. Yes, he decided, when two worked together, their strengths and weakness balanced out. He pardoned himself from the discussion and stepped outside. He leaned against the wall and sighed, feeling the cold metal of the wall. He slowly sunk down the wall and into a crouch. He let his head fall onto his knees.

Raito thought to ever time he had paused in the middle of a sentence, expecting it to be finished by the detective. He went back to ever forlorn thought, every empty longing. He thought back to ever time he had strained his ears, just to make sure that there were no bells ringing. He needed L back, he wasn't sure how much longer he could remain sane.

_L… I'm coming… please… just wait for me…_

-

Near sat in the control room staring at about twenty black monitors while twirling a small piece of white hair.

Watari sat by him, both waiting, holding their breaths

The radio crackled to life then, a voice muttered quietly "We're in."

"Good," he replied, adjusting his microphone slightly.

Raito crept stealthily along the passage at the head of their group. Matt and Mello it turned out were both very well versed with guns, both exceptionally good shots. No wonder Near had decided to stay with Watari. Those two would be very useful. He closed his eyes briefly. Where would they hide L? The map marked rooms the monks had used as storage rooms… Those seemed very likely. Storage rooms would have locks, and could therefore double as a place to put prisoners. A place to put L.

Soon they came upon the storage rooms and they carefully opened the door of each one. They were all empty. Light sighed in frustration. No L.

"Raito-kun, you might want to see this," Matt called from the last room. Light walked it, looking at the area Matt was crouching by. There was fresh blood on the floor. And he could see imorinted in the layer of dust and grime on the stone a pattern that could only be caused by someone L's size sitting in his odd crouch. Something made Raito's stomach jerk uncomfortably. L had been here. He had not been wrong…. But where was that odd detective now?

_Shortly, we will… question him regarding the KIRA case's suspect list… _

"Of course!" Light cried hitting himself hard on the head, "They hinted they were going to torture him in the TV broadcast! We've got to hurry!"

He was about to leave the room when Matt snapped, "**STOP!!**"

Raito turned back to Matt, looking like he was having a very hard time controlling himself, "Yes?!"

"This blood is fresh, he was probably removed from this room only a few minutes ago," Matt said.

"And knowing Ryuzaki," Light said quietly, he'd give us some kind of trail to follow… like his blood…"

Matt smiled, "Now we can go."

Raito also grinned, "Right."

-

Just as they had hypothesized, there was a light trail of blood droplets. Light followed them, his pace quick, the others having to jog to keep up. He needed to find L before anything else happened to him.

Suddenly a gunshot rang through the small corridor. Raito's eyes widened, terrified.

"_L!"_ He ran, leaving the others behind. Light sprinted, his hair flying back, his breath coming out in heavy pants. He heard a shrill tenor voice coming from the door just a few yards away. Then what he heard nearly made his heart stop. The soothing baritone he had been longing to hear for so long… the voice of the one he had been so captivated with for so long… the voice of his one and only equal…

Light opened the door the voice seemed have come through only to be rooted to the ground with fear. Yes L was there, but before L stood a man in long black robes and a bleach white mask with narrow black slits for eyes. Another man in similar garb on the ground was holding L's leg, rendering L completely unable to defend himself as his arms were tied behind his back.

Then to Light's horror, L stopped struggling, a look of pain crossing his face before he relaxed and closed his eyes.

"Good bye L."

"_**NO!!**_"

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Endnotes: For anyone who's wondering, a pun war is basically when you start making puns back and forth on one topic. The puns are given in the form of a conversation, and you are not allowed to use a pun already given by the opponent in a different form. For example, if the topic was graveyards or funeral homes, you can only use 'Of corpse' once. You are given roughly 10 seconds in which to deliver the return pun, and the first person to run out of puns loses. I've seen some pun wars go on for ten to fifteen minutes. They are quite spectacular to watch, and very tricky to participate in. It requires a quick mind and a twisted sense of humor.

Ah yes, and I borrowed the idea of Aizawa's hair being Kira from SexySpoonsShallRuleUsAll's fic Loves Me, Loves Me Not. It's very amusing; I highly recommend it to anyone needing a little bit of humor. Well… pervy/crackish humor, but humor still.

And in case you're wondering, I think Ryuzaki and Sayu would get along very well, as they could both have lots of fun messing with Raito. I even doubt that Sayu would be surprised, she probably guessed he was gay a long time ago. Plus, while Sayu is hardly on the same level as her brother, I think she's more than likely very smart, with a heaping helping of intuition (That most of the geniuses in this series seem to lack). And given Matt's already figured it out, why not Sayu?

But this will come into play later, so don't completely ignore it (Mainly cause I want to see Ryuzaki and Sayu harass Light together.)

By the way, for those of you have been so passionate about getting L back into action, he's going to be back from his long absence next chapter. Probably. More than likely. 67.9 percent chance. Well, more like 100 percent chance as I've already almost completed it. And believe me, it is very enjoyable. Ah, how nice it is to have L back.

_**SO REVIEW!!**_

PS: Sorry, I know I said I was planning on posting this last night, but I fell asleep. With my laptop in my lap and my legs propped up. That's how my mom found me in the morning (My hands were even still on the keyboard). Weird, ne?


	10. This Moment is Eternity

Disclaimer: I promise, nothing regarding my lack of ownership of Death Note has changed since my last posting.

Read and Review please!

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_**Chapter 9: This Moment is Eternity**_

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L moaned softly. He wasn't sure how much longer he would last. Every part of his body hurt. He was shivering uncontrollably, possibly the beginning of hypothermia. Without his shirt there was nothing to protect his back from the cold stone of the wall. Although, he reflected ruefully, given that his jeans were letting the cold settle on his legs and rear, the shirt wouldn't be much help. He left his head flop back and rest against the wall. He needed to think, to clear his mind from the fog of emotions and feeling. He knew where he was hurt and to what extent, so his nerves had serve their purpose, he did not need their continued signals in his brain. He needed to assess the situation.

There was a slight pattern. They would have him hooked up to that god awful table for roughly thirty minutes and electrocute him. But at the end of thirty minutes, they would drag him back to his original cell. This was obviously psychological torture as well as physical. Lock him inside a dank, cold cell and force him to wait for thirty painstakingly slow minutes to pass, then drag him back to the room of his torment like an animal and strap him down to the table.

He was relatively confident that if he tried he could get away from his captors fairly easily, but escaping was a different matter. He had no knowledge of how to escape the maze of passageways he was in, he would either die wandering the endless catacombs and become one of the many corpses there (an idea he found very unappealing) or he'd be recaptured by the Order, who would probably decide he was to much of a liability and kill him. Either option led to his death, and that did not amuse him. And even if he made it outside, they were probably in a remote location, maybe in the woods or in the mountains. There was no way for him to contact Watari, and he highly doubted that he'd be fortunate enough to run into a police officer in the middle of the wilderness. Therefore, he would die in that situation as well. All in all, his options didn't seem very good for him. He'd just have to trust Watari and Light to find him… And to find him they'd need a trail… He leaned forward, twisting his leg towards him. L was very flexible, and as he lacked other option, this would just have to do. And he bit the soft flesh around his ankle. Hard. Soon he could taste the metallic tang of blood in his mouth. That would do… it would hopefully leave a trail as his internal clock told him his thirty minutes of rest were over.

The door swung open and two cloaked and masked figures stepped into his cell. He was right.

"Come on," one said grabbing him roughly and tugging him upright. One masked man walked seriously in front, gun in hand, eyes flicking back and forth, as if expecting Kira to jump out from behind ever arch way or column. L could feel the blood from his ankle continue to dribble out and slide down his foot, leaving a red trail.

L noted with mild interest that the walls were piles of bones. Were these the bones of monks? Or maybe long ago a nearby village had been wiped out by disease or war an they had rather then buring them put the bones here? Or maybe they had cleared out an old graveyard and merely lacked any other place to put the bones.

"Stop looking so stoic, you won't make it out of this situation alive," the captor closest to him said.

L looked at him, head cocked slightly to the side. Then he went back to staring at the ground in front of his bare feet.

"Be happy, you'll be able to join your little friend."

L's head snapped around, his dark eyes boring into the masked man. "_What?"_ he hissed.

"When we grabbed you there was a second boy, remember? He's dead. Saw his skull split open myself."

Logically, L knew that there was a 38.5 percent chance this man was telling the truth. Logically, L knew that the man was probably lying to make him more cooperative. Logically he knew many things. But L didn't feel like thinking logically.

_Raito is dead._

L stopped walking, his head bowed forward, his ebony bangs hiding his face.

_Raito is dead. _

And then he looked up, his gaze falling on his captor. While the mask hid the man's face from view, he reeked of fear. He shuddered, unconsciously stepping away from the bound prisoner he had been leading.

_Raito is dead!_

L snapped. He didn't care about hiding his emotions anymore, he didn't care that he had no idea where he was, that there was no way he could escape. He didn't care that he was facing two huge, muscular, armed men with his hands tied behind his back. Suddenly, the only thing he cared about was inflicting as much pain on those pathetic creatures as he possibly could, because they had murdered his only friend, they and their cohorts.

And L was justice. No… L was _**vengeance**_.

The masked man had just barely enough sense to pull out his gun from the folds of his cloak. He quickly took off the safety and aimed it at his prisoner.

L had leapt at the first man, tracking the bullet's trajectory with his eyes and dodging. He spun his body to accumulate the centrifugal force necessary and kicked the man hard in the face. The man crumpled, his nose and jaw broken, blood pouring down his face. L kicked the gun away, his eyes descending on the second man.

The second man shivered. Dark orbs that once were remained emotionless were now dilated and burned with rage. He backed away from the demon that stood before him, absolutely terrified. L had always kept himself tightly controlled. The only time he had shown the slightest hint of anger was on the occasion that Kira had killed the 12 FBI agents while distracting L with the prisoners' suicide letters. But that had been more irritation than anger. But now, L was _angry_.These sad little men had managed to awaken the giant from it slumber, and said giant was murderous.

L's obsidian eyes glinted slightly red, his teeth were bared, canines exposed. He looked feral, wild. He was no longer the emotionless L, the greatest detective in the world. He was Lawliet, whose friend and lover had been murdered. And he wanted _revenge_.

The second man turned and ran, but L would not let him escape. Not one person would leave this building without tasting a fraction of the pain and turmoil that L had boiling inside his heart. Not one.

L jumped gracefully, legs propelling him forward; he rebounded off a wall and slammed his body into the fleeing man's back, causing him to fall over, his face being pressed into the cold stone floor. During the fall L's swept his legs under the other's, which resulted in a sickening crack as they collided with the ground. Both of the man's legs were broken. L kicked the man's gun away as the other howled in agony. L towered above him, his customary slouch gone, his eyes still lit with a scarlet glow of bloodlust.

"Now now, L, lets not make this more difficult then it has to be."

L turned. He knew that cold voice. It was Peter's. Peter had been the one in charge of L's capture. He was therefore the one responsible for Light's death and the source of L's heartbreak.

_He would pay_.

L turned slowly, his black eyes fixing on dark slits in Peter's mask.

"Well, don't you look angry," Peter remarked. '_And I thought those eyes were creepy before…'_

"That is because I am," L stated, his voice monotonous, but just barely under the surface boiled a primitive growl.

"And what, pray tell, could make the ever emotionless L angry. We tortured you for countless hours, and you reveal nothing, not the slightest shade of emotion ever reaching past that mask of yours. And yet now you suddenly snap. What could have brought this on?" Peter questioned, every word laced with poison. His snide tenor grated unpleasantly against Ryuzaki's ears.

"You took something very precious from me."

Peter cocked his head. They had taken something from him? No… that couldn't be right… Had they accidentally fried L's brain? Either way, it was obvious the torture didn't affect him. And Kira wouldn't know whether or not they had killed L…

The man was obviously more trouble than he was worth. He hadn't revealed a single name from the suspect list, but had seriously injured two men. Two men Peter could not afford to lose. The problem with keeping rigidly to the numbers set in the scriptures was that he only had eleven others to keep the operation going. Thirteen was set to its task and was not allowed to leave its chamber, deep in the heart of the Order. Only eleven pawns under him to keep the Order functioning. But that was fine. He could manage. After all, they were easily replaced, it just took a bit of time.

"And how do you expect to fight me, your hands are literally tied behind your back," Peter sneered, his malevolent gaze on the thin detective.

"All I need are my legs"

"L… I see no reason to further allow your existence. You are useless and a liability."

The gun was fired with a powerful bang.

Ryuzaki was about to leap out of the way when something caught around his ankle. He was slowed, the bullet burying itself in his right shoulder. "_What the…?_"

He looked down and saw the white mask of the second guard. The man had lunged forward and grabbed his ankle. Trying to wriggle free of the man's grasp, he kicked him in the face. There was a grunt of pain, but if anything, the grip tightened. "I should have broken your arms as well," L snarled. He was trapped. He couldn't fight without his legs.

And there was no way he could dodge a second bullet. He was out of energy. The adrenaline that had kept him fighting was receding.

_Light, it looks like I'll be joining you soon._

He relaxed and closed his eyes.

"Good bye, L."

"_**NO!!"**_

The shout made L's eyes flick open again. _That voice, it couldn't be!_

L gazed in shocked as Raito leapt into the room from a door he had not noticed early.

Peter fired.

For L, time slowed. He watched as Light collided with L, using his inertia and body mass to force the detective out of the way of the bullet, which instead grazed Light's cheek. They collapsed in a heap together on the ground just as Mello entered the room, his gun drawn, closely followed by Matsuda and Matt, also armed.

"Don't move, or we'll fire," Matsuda said, his usually cheerful and childish face radiating anger.

'_To many'_ Peter decided, "Alright I surren-…" he started, taking advantage of the cover of his billowing cloak, he pushed a small button in the wall, "-der."

The wall to his left suddenly opened revealing a small spiral staircase which Peter leapt into, closing the door before they had even realized what he had done.

"_SHIT!!_" Mello yelled as the cloaked man disappeared in the blink of an eye.

But all this was lost on the pair on the floor.

Light held the small detective to him in a hug so tight Ryuzaki nearly cried out in pain, his shoulder still oozing blood from where he had been shot. But he didn't cry out. Instead he rested his head on Light's shoulder, letting the younger man come close to fracturing his ribs just to be assured the detective alright, that he was real, that he was alive.

"I found you," Light said quietly.

"Raito-kun," L whispered, "You're alive…"

Light stayed silent for a few seconds, letting himself soak in the soothing baritone he had been desperate to hear for so long,

"Of course, you think I'd let myself die after the bet I won?" Raito said, a wicked smile spreading across his face. Things were right again. He had his L back.

"Ah…" Ryuzaki smiled as well, remembering their tennis match, "For some reason it feels like that was a few years ago rather than just a few hours."

"I've missed you so much," Raito said, loosening his grip slightly on Ryuzaki.

He lifted one of his hands, stroking the detective's porcelain cheek. L closed his eyes and purred at the contact, nuzzling Raito's hand like a small kitten. A small, gentle smile flitted onto the detective's normally emotionless face.

Ryuzaki then leaned forward, pressing his lips softly against the youth's. The kiss was tender; none of the usual fire or lust was present. There was no battle for dominance, there was no attempt to overpower the other. It was just a simple expression of the deep love and understanding that had bound the pair so inexorably to each other. It was reforging of the bond, a resealing of the pact.

Forgotten was the NPA. Forgotten was the Order. Forgotten were L's successors. Forgotten was Kira. Nothing mattered to the pair on the floor except the fact that they were together again after their long and unnatural separation, to hell with the rest of the world.

It was only for a moment, but at the same time eternity…

"Umm… okay… who wants to explain this to me?" Mello said looking at Matt and Matsuda.

The pair shrugged. Who the hell said they knew what was going on either?

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Endnotes: Yay! Happy reunions!! A little bit of fluff towards the end such a violent and angst-filled chapter (Although Mello had to go and ruin the mood -_sigh_-). Happy reunions. But this is hardly the end. In fact, in only gets better from this point on! Now reward me for all this annoying effort and review.


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